Iambic means “of a foot or verse” and Pentameter means “measure of five” Each foot containing one unaccented syllable and one accented syllable.

Most of Shakespeare’s plays where written in Iambic pentameter.

RAZORS

Dull razors pull hair

Sharp razors are dangerous

Both can cause great pain

DRUG OF CHOICE

My drug of choice: Kids

Spend one day with five year old

Trip a whole new way

The Acrostic poem below is a written reminder for myself and affirmation of my beliefs. You might want to give this type poem a try yourself with your own name:

ODELLA AKA ALHAVAKIA

Written as a single quatrain in trochaic tetrameter with an abab or abcb rhyme scheme.  They are amusing, satirical, or ironic and cover topics ranging from bawdy jokes to propaganda.

They parallel the limerick, and are usually accompanied by music.  The musical refrain between chastukas gives the audience time to laugh without missing the next one.  Poets are resourceful and clever when performing them in front of an audience where the contestants mocked each other in competitions similar to today’s hip-hop or rap battles.

It addresses an imagined or actual person, or  it may also be used to comment on the earlier content of the poem. It also repeats rhyme words or sounds used in the main body of the poem.

Poems written in blank verse can be as long as the poet desires, provided that each line is written in iambic pentameter.

It must use the rhyme scheme of ababbcc dedeeff ghghii.

The first and third lines are composed of five syllables each and the rest are composed of seven syllables each.

Tanka is the oldest type of poetry in Japan.

For example, the tongue twister “Suzie sells sea shells by the seashore” uses alliteration.

In modern usage, alliteration is most commonly consonantal.